3.92/160 Canadian Law Schools Forum

[TonyStark123]

Hello, just got my LSAT scores back and I received a 160. Definitely lower than what I was hoping for, I was averaging 167 on practice tests but I definitely dropped the ball on the real thing. The Logic Game section destroyed me and I ran out of time on the last RC section, which was disappointing because I usually get that section completely correct. I could write the test again in October, but I'm really hoping to avoid that. Anyways, I am a Canadian and I am looking at the University of Calgary, the University of Victoria, and Dalhousie University. The University of British Columbia would be nice, but their average LSAT score is 164, so it might be a bit of a reach. I am currently at Dalhousie, Major in history. Dalhousie uses a 4.30 GPA scale, so my GPA is 3.92/4.30. Thoughts?

Potential Law Schools:
University of Victoria
University of Calgary
Dalhousie University
University of British Columbia

[Saltqjibo]

Some of the schools you're targeting drop some of your worst years/ credits. So the first step is to figure out where you really stand at these places with your GPA. I know UBC drops pretty much a full year of your worst and I think Vic operates on a best two year system. That said if 4.30 is an A on your scale it sounds like you have about an A- average which is really solid and should get potentially much better once you factor in drops. Your LSAT score is a little bit weaker but still relatively strong. UBC uses an index score system based on GPA and LSAT so you could potentially just find that formula, plug in your number and know if you are in. That said I think you look like you're in a good position for all of these schools (not sure on averages individually). I would say your strong GPA will make up for a below average LSAT at pretty much all these places.

Also. I wouldn't worry too much about which school you go for in terms of prestige. Canadian schools are all fairly good and only a few somewhat stand out in terms of rep. I have heard lots of good things about calgary as having a fun/interesting vibe, and I just met a dalhousie graduate last night who seemed to have a pretty interesting job (he was doing public defense for some of the protesters in TO this weekend). Vic has bunny rabbits all over its campus (for real), that and access to the islands alone make it one of my top choices.

[Mal]

The UBC formula is something like (0.6118*LSAT + % GPA) /2 . Where 92+ is what you need to get in at some point. Plugging in your numbers you get somewhere above 94, so you should expect an admittance from UBC.

The Uvic formula is something like (175*GPA) + (3 * LSAT Percentile) = Index Score. 925+ is in a really good position, you are at 970.

Calgary may or may not bite, they say they are holistic and it seems believable by looking at who gets in/rejected. My thoughts are that you get in though.

Dalhousie should be an auto admit for you as well.

So the bottom line is that you should definitely be expecting acceptances from all these schools. Take time to write a good personal statement, and expect an answer fairly early in the winter.

[TonyStark123]

Thanks for the advice, I definitely agree that on the whole most Canadian law schools are fairly equal. The exceptions being McGill which doesn't use the LSAT due to its bilingual/civil law program and the University of Toronto, which is out of my LSAT range and somewhat overpriced in my view. With the marks dropped by Victoria and UBC my GPA soars, it is currently being brought down by a C+ in Spanish and a B in French, all of my other marks are A's or A+s. Victoria is an interesting school (I have heard about the bunny problem) as it uses a 70/30 formula when considering GPA and LSAT, with GPA making up 70% of the formula.

I'm fairly confident about Calgary, their average LSAT score is 158 and if I went there I would be able to specialize in Oil and Gas Law.

Thanks again for taking the time to look over my numbers, it is easy to run through the grids and formulas but it is nice to have your numbers analyzed by a real person.